WASHINGTON-As Congress returns this week to begin the 106th Congress, members of the House
Commerce Committee were given a preview of coming attractions in December by their chairman, Rep. Thomas Bliley
(R-Va.). Two of those priorities are of particular interest to the wireless industry. Bliley said he expects the Commerce
Committee to act quickly on the enhanced 911 and cellular phone privacy bills from last Congress.
“The
[Commerce] Committee will pass Emergency 911 legislation creating a national emergency number for wireless and
wireline calls. We can save lives. I have met with my telecommunications subcommittee chairman, Rep. Billy Tauzin
[R-La.], asking him to move quickly on a new bill … We need to pass legislation to protect privacy on wireless phones.
I am putting committee members on notice that we must pass a new bill,” Bliley said.
Bliley laid out his
priorities for the 106th Congress in a speech in Richmond, Va., on Dec. 21.
The E911 legislation is designed to
bolster E911 development through improved federal-land antenna siting. Additionally the bill would create a uniform
wireless emergency number-911-nationwide and protect wireless carriers from liability if a 911 call is not completed.
Wireline carriers already are exempt from liability for 911 call troubles on the wireline network.
The E911 bill
passed the House Commerce Committee in August by voice vote after its sponsors were able to alleviate the concerns
of Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), ranking Democrat on the telecommunications subcommittee. Markey had been
concerned about privacy issues and the possible health impacts of wireless phone usage. The version that passed the
House Commerce Committee contained funds earmarked for health research. The bill did not pass the full House but
Commerce Committee staff remain convinced that it will pass the full House when it is considered.
The prospects in
the Senate for similar legislation remain murky. The proposed Senate companion bill to H.R. 3844, the Wireless
Communications and Public Safety Act of 1998, died in the Senate Commerce Committee after serious concerns were
raised by state and local officials about pre-empting local authority over tower sitings.
These concerns have yet to
be addressed by the proponents of the bill, according to Rob Cohen of the ComCare Alliance, a group of public-safety
and health care professionals created and partially funded by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.
“We haven’t spoken with [representatives of state and local government] since the end of the last Congress but we
anticipate talking with them shortly … They seemed to want to have more of a role in antenna siting than is justified by
either the Constitution or current law,” Cohen said.
The wireless privacy bill dates back to the beginning of
the 105th Congress when it was revealed that a Florida couple, John and Alice Martin, had taped a cellular telephone
conference call of the Republican leadership.
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), then chairman of the House Republican
Conference, was using a cellular telephone in Florida during the conference call. Even though the others on the
conference call, including former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), were using wireline phones, everyone on the call
could be heard by the Martins on their radio scanner because of Boehner’s cellular link.
The Martins, who have ties
to the Democratic party, turned the tape over to Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), then ranking Democrat on the House
Ethics Committee investigating former Speaker Gingrich. The conference call involved strategy planning to deal with
ethics violations against Gingrich.
Immediately following the brouhaha over the taped call, Tauzin held hearings
and introduced legislation making the interception of wireless calls illegal.
The bill did not advance beyond
committee last Congress and there does not appear to be an appetite for similar legislation in the Senate.
The bill hit
another potential snag last summer when U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan ruled the First Amendment can trump
wireless privacy protection. Boehner had attempted to sue McDermott for releasing the contents of the call, but Hogan
said “the First Amendment prevents the government from punishing the disclosure of truthful, lawfully obtained
information of public significance.”
Nevertheless, CTIA again will lobby for the bill in the 106th Congress,
said Tim Ayers, CTIA vice president of communications. “Despite the ruling in one case, Congress has been very
clear about the right to privacy,” Ayers said.
The Commerce Committees in both houses also will see
members enter the national stage this year as House telecommunications subcommittee member Rep. J. Dennis Hastert
(R-Ill.) is expected to be elected speaker of the House later this week. Additionally, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.),
chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, is expected to announce this week the creation of a presidential
exploratory committee for the election in the year 2000.
